Tender
by Rasengan22
Summary: Post-698. In which Naruto and Sasuke do what we all know they should've done at the end: travel together. Canon fluff. Written for SNS Soulmates magazine.


**a/n:** Written for lilium-sns and the SNS Soulmates magazine she (and friends) publish. They can be found on Tumblr or Twitter. The mag has featured interviews with Snow and Jasu (and myself). Please check it out!

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_Tender_

"Are you ready?" Sasuke asked as if Naruto hadn't been waiting for him by this tree for nearly an hour.

"Yeah, I'm _ready_. What, did you have to get your nails done or somethin'?" Naruto adjusted the heavy pack he'd brought, shifting it to his other shoulder. This new arm felt sore where it attached. Needless to say, the old hag hadn't been the most gentle during the experimental surgery.

"I had that conversation you told me to have with Sakura."

"Oh." Naruto promptly sobered hearing this news. "Uh, how did she take it? And, um," he rubbed at his nose, "How much detail did you go into?"

Sasuke's eyebrow quirked. "What is it you _think _I'd tell her?"

"I mean, it's Sakura-chan. I'm sure she asked questions."

"She did."

"But, you didn't say anything like 'Wow, Naruto and I confessed to each other in the hospital after many long late night talks and now we're goin' on a road trip to figure out our feelings'?"

"Yes, Naruto. That's exactly what I told her."

Naruto studied his friend's stoic face, unable to discern if he was being sarcastic.

"I'm kidding," Sasuke clarified, and, removing his arm from beneath his cloak, reached out to poke Naruto in the forehead. "We should get going."

Sasuke walked past him, and Naruto watched the other ninja's back, distracted by the graceful, confident movement of his body. Losing a limb had done nothing to diminish Sasuke's ego.

"Okay, wait! Just wait a sec!" Naruto cried, chasing after him once he'd finished sulking. "What _did _you say, and just how badly am I gonna need to beg her forgiveness when we get home?"

xxx

Rain beat on the roof of the cabin they'd been staying in all week. After a month of traveling on foot, exploring various Fire Nation villages, they'd run into an old woman who'd broken a wagon wheel while bringing wares to the market. Much to Sasuke's annoyance (as Naruto sought to help every troubled person along the way), they'd assisted the woman and, as a reward, she offered them this old cabin, located deep within the woods. Naruto was sat on one of the twin beds, reading a scroll sent to him by Kakashi-sensei. He also had a few shuriken spread out in a semicircle on top of the covers.

Just as he put down the scroll, Sasuke walked over with a tray, having decided to make them a lunch of miso soup, pickled cucumber, and a tiny fish Naruto didn't immediately recognize.

"Do you mind?" Sasuke asked, gesturing at the shuriken with a sharp nod.

Naruto quickly stuffed them back into his pouch and dropped it on the floor. Sasuke positioned the tray near the foot of the bed, unrolled a bamboo mat he'd been carrying under his arm, and placed the tray on top of it. He picked up a pair of chopsticks and handed them to Naruto.

"I didn't know you could cook," Naruto said, a tone of wonder in his voice as he surveyed the food first before looking up at Sasuke again.

"How else would I eat?" Sasuke started digging into his portions, munching quietly.

Naruto, on the other hand, grabbed for his miso soup with both hands and loudly slurped. When he finished all the broth, he let out a belch.

"I should've bought some rice while we were at the market," Sasuke mumbled between bites of that skeletal fish.

Naruto poked at its meat, trying to avoid the bones. "I think this is nice."

"It's not much."

Naruto spread his legs out, nudging Sasuke's shin with his foot. "It's good. Promise."

Sasuke offered a small smile. "If you say so. _You're _doing the dishes."

"This is startin' to feel pretty damn domestic, Sasuke," he teased, waggling his eyebrows and grinning—at least until the pointed end of a chopstick came uncomfortably close to his left eyeball.

xxx

"We're here." Sasuke's voice was quiet as he stood at Naruto's side, both of them looking out onto the water. Behind them, lay the ruins of Uzushiogakure. The air was filled with the salt of the sea; the wind gently whipped their hair; and, in the distance, lightning split the darkening sky.

"I always wanted to see this," Naruto confessed. "I mean, once I found out about mom and where she came from. I knew it had been wiped out, but it's hard to tell there was ever a village here."

"I think we both understand the consequences of war first-hand now," Sasuke replied.

Naruto's gaze slid to his companion, remembering that not all that long ago, Sasuke had threatened the destruction of all Naruto held dear in this world. Now… now Sasuke was different.

He nodded. "We can change things now, you and me."

"But are we in agreement about how things should change, what things?"

"I think we can figure that kinda stuff out on this trip, don't you?"

"What if we can't see eye to eye? I still think Konoha should face consequences. For what it did to my clan. To… Itachi."

"Would bringing the truth to light change anything?" Naruto asked, genuinely curious about Sasuke's take on the matter.

"I don't think anything can come of hiding the truth. Look what was hidden from you. About your family, your past, the way Sarutobi allowed you to be treated by villagers—"

"Sasuke," he interrupted. "I don't wanna look back anymore, but, yeah, I agree that there are people who need to be held accountable."

"Sometimes I wonder…"

Naruto reached for Sasuke's hand. He interlaced their fingers, looking him in the eye. "I believe in you. I believe in us, and I believe in what we can accomplish _together_."

Sasuke's cheeks flushed, amusing him enough that he couldn't help but laugh.

"Idiot," Sasuke chided.

"Who knew you'd get embarrassed by such little things, huh?" Naruto turned so that he could face him, thunder in the background and waves crashing against the rocks.

Sasuke squeezed his hand. "Maybe these aren't little things to me."

It was Naruto's turn to blush. "I've been wonderin'... if I were to—" He took a step closer until the front soles of their sandals touched. "How you'd react if I were to—"

Sasuke's eyes narrowed further with each approaching step Naruto took toward him. "You won't know until you try."

Naruto smirked. "I guess I'm the one makin' the first move."

"I think you already made the first move back at the hospital."

"Yeah, but that was after you confessed your feelings!"

"_You_ confessed first."

"Did I?" Naruto could see his own smiling face in the reflection of the plate on Sasuke's new forehead protector.

"At the Valley. Only you were too _stupid _to realize it was a confession."

"Heh." Naruto scratched at the back of his head. "I can be a little dense sometimes, can't I?"

"Sometimes?" Sasuke taunted, hair fluttering in front of his eyes.

Since he was the only one with a free hand, Naruto moved to tuck it behind the other ninja's ear. It had taken a while to recover from the shock of their final battle, the loss of their arms, the emotional conversations that took place between them during their recovery at the hospital—but, eventually, Naruto was able to see his feelings for what they truly were, even if there had been a part of him that had always known that he loved Uchiha Sasuke. As more than a goal, comrade, or friend. Not exactly as a brother like he'd at first thought, but something more.

Something bigger, more confusing, but also _really _amazing.

While looking at him, the only person in this world that made Naruto feel understood, he leaned in while tenderly cupping the side of Sasuke's face. Maybe Sasuke would make fun of him for his obvious lack of experience, maybe he thought Naruto naive or immature, but when Naruto pressed his lips to Sasuke's (this time not on accident), he felt an addictive warmth bloom from his gut to his chest.

There was a slight stinging as Sasuke's nails dug into the skin of his palm. Naruto cracked an eye open to see if he was doing something wrong, but Sasuke's eyes were tightly shut. His cheeks were as pink as Sakura-chan's hair, and the tiniest crease appeared between his brows.

Naruto smiled happily as they broke apart—while Sasuke's gaze immediately averted in the direction of the ocean out of embarrassment.

"How is it I've lived this long and have only ever kissed such a dead last?"

"Wait, what—?" Naruto sputtered out.

Sasuke shot him a glare; Naruto wouldn't interrogate him right now, but he would definitely try to at some point. Instead, he grinned like a fool.

"Thanks for makin' this trip with me," he said. "Where do you wanna go next?"

"Anywhere's good," Sasuke replied.

"So long as it's with me?"

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Don't push your luck, Naruto. I could've used Chidori on you after what you just pulled."

"Yeah, but you didn't." Naruto rocked back and forth on his heels. "'Cause you _love _me."

"I find you more tolerable than I used to when we were young."

"Same," Naruto told him and laughed, eliciting another small smile from Sasuke. "How 'bout we get outta here and find a place to stay for the night?"

"Sounds like a plan."

"Oh man, I hope wherever we find has only one bed!"

"You're an idiot." Sasuke began tugging Naruto away from the shore, _both _of their palms sweaty. "But, from now on, you're _my _idiot."

* * *

**End**


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